Sunrise may ban synthetic marijuana

May 9, 2012|By Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel

SUNRISE — Synthetic marijuana, sold as incense under names like "Spice" and "K2," may soon be banned in Sunrise.

Commissioner Joey Scuotto proposed the ban this week, saying he was worried about the dangers to teens and young adults who may not be aware of the potential side effects of the fake weed, which can mimic the "high" of marijuana.

Though billed as benign, the synthetic drug has sent users to emergency rooms with increased heart rates, seizures, panic attacks and hallucinations.

"I don't want to be known as a city that's going to allow it," Scuotto said. "Let's cut it off before it gets to be a problem."

The federal government and state have outlawed various chemical compounds used in synthetic marijuana. But the manufacturers simply use different compounds to skirt the law, labeling the packets as incense "not intended for human consumption."

The Sunrise law would be modeled after an ordinance that won tentative approval Monday in Sweetwater in Miami-Dade County. Rather than banning specific chemical compounds, Sweetwater has proposed a ban on loose-leaf and granular incense.

In order to enforce the state ban, officers need reasonable suspicion that the incense contains one of the Schedule I banned drugs and that it is being sold for human consumption, said Michelle Hammontree-Garcia, spokeswoman for Sweetwater.

"The packets would then have to be sent to a lab for testing — a process that can take up to 30 days," she said. "In the meantime, kids have died from this."

Sweetwater commissioners are expected to take a final vote on May 21. If the ban wins approval, anyone caught selling the outlawed incense could be fined $500 a day and face up to 60 days in jail.

If Sunrise approves the ban, Scuotto said officers would notify the gas stations and convenience stores where the products are sold — and make sure the fake drug doesn't wind up back on shelves.